The Sawi in transition

 The past year has been extraordinarily eventful and moving for the Swiss Training Center for Marketing, Advertising and Communication (Sawi), explained President Hans-Peter Rohner at the general meeting on Friday in Lucerne. This was not just about the move from Biel to Zurich-Stettbach: Sawi is in the midst of a structural change and is facing increased competition in all key training areas, said Rohner. It has lost its nimbus as number 1 in various areas - or is at least under great pressure to defend its position immediately. In Rohner's eyes, it is imperative that international recognition of the upper and top levels of education is achieved. This would require the Sawi to achieve university of applied sciences status "as quickly as possible", the President continued. "Important changes" had to be made in good time. In an assessment of the situation, Rohner hinted that it was questionable whether the two sponsoring associations Schweizer Werbung (SW) and Swiss Marketing (SMC) could continue to be the organizers of federal examinations. Competitors of Sawi would be annoyed by this situation. In addition, the requirements of the markets and the trainees would change faster than the job profiles on which the professional examinations are based. According to Rohner, this leads to differences within the sponsoring associations.

The dilemma here is that if Sawi focuses primarily on market requirements, this would result in "tensions" with the associations that organize examinations. If it focused on the job profiles, the Sawi would gradually reduce its own market, Rohner continued. He also questioned whether it was still feasible today for someone to be an examination supervisor, lecturer and examination expert at the same time. This is becoming increasingly problematic "in the eyes of the interested public". The Sawi will have to discuss how the sponsoring organization should be further developed.
The Sawi management organization was also discussed. Rohner paid tribute to the deceased Director of Western Switzerland, Cédric Hinterberger, with warm words and a minute's silence. Marcello Romano is now managing the business in French-speaking Switzerland on an interim basis and is fulfilling his role to the satisfaction of everyone involved. The search for a permanent replacement is ongoing. The management of Polycom in French-speaking Switzerland will remain in the hands of René Engelmann.
Need for more stability In contrast, the situation in German-speaking Switzerland is less stable. Director Pia Kasper has done a lot of development work in Zurich together with the employees. There were still many "tricky situations" to overcome because a great deal of expertise was lost as a result of the move from Biel to Zurich. Today, this has largely been compensated for, but there is a clear need for "more stability and continuity in management and daily business" at Sawi German-speaking Switzerland, said Rohner. For Pia Kasper, a top priority is the creation of a more stable educational organization in German-speaking Switzerland and the re-establishment of a positive climate at Sawi. The Board of Directors attaches great importance to this.
This statement by Rohner is probably a cautious formulation in view of the fact that there is clear dissatisfaction with the management from various circles. Rohner referred to this by mentioning that a lot had been written about the training center, including a lot of negative things. He did not want to talk away the existing problems, but called on everyone to look on the bright side. There is currently a climate around Sawi Deutschschweiz that includes a "desire for self-destruction".
The atmosphere on the Board of Directors also seems to be very heated: it can be compared to the mood in the Swiss parliament last December. The President welcomed the lively discussions, but in his view, some motions were not only focused on the matter in hand, but also on particular interests of the association or individuals.
The Swiss Advertising Association is critical of the situation at Sawi: the SW is being called into question as the most important sponsor of Sawi because it cannot agree with the current situation at the teaching institute. The SW will therefore consider how to proceed and provide information in due course, the association announced on Saturday.
Black figures at SawiA pleasing financial result was reported at the Sawi general meeting: Despite the investment of over half a million francs in the new training rooms in Zurich-Stettbach, the annual accounts closed in the black. The annual profit amounted to 28,326 francs. In her comments, Pia Kasper pointed out that the construction costs could be reduced considerably compared to the expected expenditure thanks to great efforts. According to Rohner, streamlined cost management, job cuts, sponsorship contributions and the reduction of privileges and special agreements also contributed to the result.
Towards the end of the General Meeting, there were also some changes to the Board: Otto Meier (previously on the board for VSW), Urs Schneider (SW) and Beat Fritsch (Comm-on) stepped down. Moreno Cavaliere (VSW), Daniel Brüngger (SW) and Alessandra Finazzi (Comm-on) were newly elected.